Earth is a planet born of fire.
For billions of years, volcanoes have helped create the world we know. From the continents to the air we breathe and even life itself, all have their origins in fire. These processes have created extraordinary...

Grab your mask and snorkel and come on an unforgettable adventure! Great Barrier Reef captures the natural beauty of the world’s largest living wonder and introduces us to the visionaries and citizen scientists who are helping us better understand this...

Join an immersive IMAX adventure to experience the life-saving superpowers and extraordinary bravery of some of the world's most amazing dogs. No stranger to superheroes himself, Chris Evans narrates this inspiring true story about remarkable (or is that...

The Fleet's newest exhibition, Pause|Play, is an invitation for the young and the young-at-heart to leave the digital world behind, hit pause on their busy lives and recapture the nostalgia of play. Science has shown that play has a number of cognitive,...

As Tim Gunn is fond of saying, “Make. It. Work!” And that’s the idea behind our Make-It Workshop, a creative and interactive workshop for innovators and other curious minds. We invite you to stop by Studio X (formerly Tinkering Studio) on Saturdays to...

Stay and play—and save!—until 10 p.m. on Friday nights this summer!
Bring the entire family to experience the Fleet at night! Enjoy extended evening hours at the Fleet in celebration of The Art of Summer in Balboa Park. Peruse Pause|Play late into...

Grownups! You get the science center all to yourself (no kids allowed!) to explore exhibits at a savings, enjoy an adult beverage and rock out to music on Saturday nights this summer.
Adult Recess provides your chance to take over the Fleet's...

The first Monday of every month, seniors 65 and better can enjoy the Science Center exhibits, a show in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater and a lecture on the quietest day of the month for only $10! No coupons or additional discounts are accepted. The Fleet...

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Join us on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. for a tour of the solar system narrated by the Fleet’s astronomer. Journey through the cosmos with us as we explore a new topic each month.
For optimal viewing, each show is...

Join us on the second weekend of each month to investigate exciting science topics. Sessions will be filled with new challenges, hands-on activities and interaction with local scientists. Throughout the year, we will explore an array of fields including...

Launch Delay for the James Webb Space Telescope

By Dr. Lisa Will, Fleet Science Center's Resident Astronomer

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has long been described as the “successor” to the Hubble Space Telescope. Because Hubble won’t last forever, JWST has been designed to push beyond the boundaries of what we’ve learned from Hubble and is planned for launch before Hubble loses functionality .

That is why news of a delay in the launch date for JWST is disappointing. NASA announced this week that the 2019 launch date is being moved back to May 2020. While the spacecraft and its instrumentation (cameras and mirrors, for example) are complete, they were all built separately and have finally been brought together to integrate the spacecraft as a whole. However, there have been problems during routine testing that indicate the need to do more testing before declaring the mission ready for launch. Nobody wants to launch a spacecraft with leaky thrusters and a torn sunshield!

While this latest development is indeed disappointing, it’s not terribly surprising. This is a mission like none before it: the largest mirror ever in space, one that unfurls to its full size of 21 feet! NASA can’t buy these instruments in a store. Every bit is dreamed, designed, engineered and constructed to form amazing spacecraft that help us better understand the universe. While such delays are understandable, we wish everyone on JWST the best of luck making the new May 2020 launch date.